Scaffolding is commonly used to provide a work platform at a raised height and allows safe repair or maintenance of a structure. For some applications, scaffolding is used in association with preventative maintenance associated with a particular building or structure and the length of time the scaffolding remains in place can be relatively long. Depending upon the particular project and environment, it is sometimes necessary to provide shrouding to the exterior of the scaffolding to provide a wind or weather block. Heavier shrouding can be used to protect a worker from unnecessary exposure to wind, rain and/or snow.
Various methods have been proposed for attaching of a sheet material to the exterior of the scaffolding. According to one system, a specialized fabric shrouding with a series of ports therein are designed to be connected on posts provided on the scaffolding. This system requires both a specialized shrouding as well as customized scaffolding. Typically, there are a number of different types of scaffolding and only a relatively small portion of the scaffolding on hand may require shrouding. Furthermore, scaffolding is used in many different configurations and any system for securing shrouding requires flexibility with respect to securement locations and ease of securement. Therefore, although specialized securing methods and approaches have been proposed they have not proven to be particularly effective.
It is known to provide a sheet securing scaffold clamp as in U.S. Pat. No. 8,043,022, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This clamp, however, has its own shortcomings. It is unable to open wide enough to accommodate shrouding made of heavy materials/fabrics; it is difficult to remove the clamp in a manner without damaging the shroud material; and when exposed, the unrounded metal edges of the clamp lead to damage of the shroud material.
There remains a need to provide a simple effective approach for securing a fabric shroud to scaffolding in a manner that can overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, accommodate shrouding made of heavy materials, and reduce damage to the shroud fabric.